Maine author Chris Van Dusen visits Limestone School students
LIMESTONE, Maine — Young Limestone Community School students were treated to a glimpse of the creative process behind children’s literature last Tuesday.
Maine author Chris Van Dusen, of Camden, read some of his work and brought numerous conceptual art drafts to demonstrate how a rough sketch can become a published illustration.
Along with writing and illustrating several of his own books, Van Dusen has provided artwork for a number of stories written by Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo.
Van Dusen says his illustrations are inspired by Maine author Robert McCloskey and that Dr. Seuss influenced his writing methods.
“I was really inspired by Dr. Seuss’s writing and rhyming,” Van Dusen said. “His lines are so musical and they have a good rhythm.”
Van Dusen was born in Portland, then moved to Massachusetts in his childhood, and back to Camden, where he currently resides, in 1985.
Before writing children’s books, Van Dusen had made a living as a freelance illustrator, creating art for advertisements, magazines, and even greeting cards.
In 1991, Van Dusen’s life took a drastic change when the spontaneous image of a man in a boat, stuck in a tree, popped into his head.
“I was intrigued by the thought and started thinking about how he got up there and how he would get down,” Van Dusen said. “That became the basis for my story ‘Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee.’”
Success didn’t come overnight for Van Dusen, as it took several years for the story to come together and he did not have an easy time finding a publisher.
“I tried sending the story in on my own and got rejected very quickly by the of the big publishers,” Van Dusen said. “It wasn’t until I met another author at a book signing, who introduced me to an agent that got the ball rolling and helped me publish half my books.”
The author’s artwork has a whimsical, yet surreal, quality, and Van Dusen says an illustration can take anywhere from two days to five weeks to complete.
“A big double-page spread takes about two to three weeks to paint,” Van Dusen said. “I paint with gouache, which is a water-based paint that comes in tubes. You can use it with a lot of water and get big areas of color or use very little water and it becomes thick like an oil painting. It’s a great medium.”
LCS Principal Sue White says that second-grade teacher Carrie Reed was responsible for Van Dusen’s visit.
“It was funded by the teachers,” said White. “They pay money to wear jeans and they’ve just saved that money over a number of years. This all came out of their own pocket. The teachers were able to have a nice luncheon with him, and it’s good for these kids to have the opportunity to meet a real author and illustrator.”
According to Van Dusen’s website, in-state school visits cost $1,200 plus 50 cents per each mile traveled.
Reed believes the booking was well worth the money, as her students were immediately mesmerized and inspired by the author’s presentation.
“The students were thrilled when he came in,” said Reed. “Even the kids who like to talk were silent. The RSU has hosted authors at the Caribou Performing Arts Center before, but I don’t think we’ve had anything like this. It’s really going to inspire the kids’ writing.”
The author’s visit coincides with the school’s writing workshops, held with the intent of cultivating strong creative and communicative writing skills. Teachers have students focus on stamina and read other authors for inspiration. In turn, they produce personal narratives, opinion pieces, creative work, and even incorporate writing into their math assignments.
“Not only is writing a way for students to communicate and express themselves, but I can’t think of many future occupations they’ll have that don’t involve writing in some way,” said Reed.
After his presentation, Van Dusen said he was glad to have the chance to visit Aroostook County.
“It was really nice to visit,” said Van Dusen. “I don’t get up here much, but it’s very beautiful and the people are really nice.”
